12 Creepiest Coincidences in History

These Coincidences Will Make You Wonder

At 8:30 pm on Saturday, 29th September, 1888, a woman by the name of Catherine Eddowes was found drunk, lying on Aldgate High Street in London, England.

She was taken to the Bishopsgate police station where she was held until 1 am, at which time she was deemed sober enough to leave. Upon leaving, she gave the police officer’s the fake name of Mary Kelly.

At 1:45 am, Eddowes’ mutilated body was found in the south-west corner of Mitre Square by policeman PC Edward Watkins. She had been murdered by the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

On the 9th November, 1888, another body was found mutilated. This time it was that of a 25 year old woman discovered at her residence in East London. It was Jack the Ripper’s final murder. Bizarrely, her name was Mary Kelly, the same name Eddowes had given to police shortly before she was murdered.

In the late 1800’s Henry Ziegland of Honey Grove, Texas ended his relationship with his girlfriend. She was so distraught by the incident that she committed suicide shortly after. Her brother, seeking revenge went to Ziegland’s property and shot him. The bullet grazed Ziegland’s face and lodged in a nearby tree. It had struck him with enough force however, to knock him to the ground. Believing that Ziegland was dead, the brother then turned the gun on himself.

20 years later, Ziegland was clearing his land and needed to cut down the tree. It proved difficult so he decided to make the job easier by using a few sticks of dynamite. The explosion dislodged the bullet from the tree and it hit Ziegland right in the head, killing him on the spot!

In an eerie coincidence, the novel foretold the tragic tale of the Titanic, 14 years before it actually occurred. In the book, the ship known as the Titan, hits an iceberg on the starboard side – the same as the Titanic. It happens in April, 400 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland – the same as the Titanic. The Titan even had too few lifeboats on board to save all the passengers as it sunk.

The author’s account was so frighteningly similar to that of the Titanic that after it sunk he was accused of clairvoyance. However, he claimed that he simply wrote his novel based on his knowledge of maritime practices and ship building.

3. Hugh Williams

On December 5th, 1664, a ship sank in a stretch of water off the coast of Wales known as the Menai Strait. 81 of the 82 passengers on board all drowned except for one man named Hugh Williams.

On December 5th, 1785, another ship sank in the Manai Straight killing all on board except for one. The survivors name was also Hugh Williams.

On December 5th, 1820 yet another ship sank in the Manai Straight. Once again, there was only one survivor – Hugh Williams.

2. Moped Mystery

On July 30th, 1974, 17 year old Neville Ebbin was hit and killed by a taxi driven by Willard Manders while out riding his moped in Hamilton, Bermuda. Almost one year later, on July 18th, 1975, his brother Erskine Ebbin, who was also 17 at the time, was out riding the same moped when he too was struck and killed by the same taxi driven by the same driver. Even stranger, the taxi was carrying the same passenger on both occasions!

During the 14th century, Tamerlane was the last great nomadic conqueror who ruled lands stretching from modern day Turkey, through Iran and much of Central Asia. He founded the Timurid Empire in Persia and Central Asia and became the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty.

On the 19th June, 1941, Soviet anthropologists exhuming his remains discovered an inscription on his tomb that read “Whomsoever opens my tomb shall unleash an invader more terrible than I.”

Three days after his tomb was disturbed, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa. More than 4 million military personnel along with 600,000 vehicles invaded the Western Soviet Union along a 2,900 kilometer (1,800 mile) front during World War 2. It was the largest military invasion of all time.

In November 1942, Tamerlane was re-buried with a full Islamic ritual. Shortly afterwards, the Soviet forces secured victory against the German’s at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Well that was the 12 creepiest coincidences in history. Freaky weren’t they? Can you think of any others? Let us know!